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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

DIY glow board?

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May 25, 2010
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Ive seen a lot of forums about really cool (expensive) glow boards, that react to 405nm lasers . I found it interesting and I ordered a

50mw 405nm laser from dinodirect.
Now my challenge is finding a way to create a budget friendly glow board that is at least half the size of a normal wall poster(2x2 feet). Ive read around and have not seen anyone suggest this, Or what would be the best material/paint for this type of project. any suggestions/links/ or ideas are welcome including what paint/material prevails over others.
 
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You can buy small bottles of glow in the dark paint from craft and hobby stores. I bought mine at hobby lobby. It's only a couple of ounces, but if you bought a couple of them you should have plenty to paint something that size.

A smaller but more expensive alternative is to find some of the Crayola glow board products and piece a few of them together.
 

Fenzir

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I have a nice posterboard, about 2.5x2 feet. I used 2 bottles of Glow in the dark fabric paint and spreaded it with my hands. Works great! If you leave your lights on and put something complicated on it (Ipod with earbuds, screws and nails, pencils) and then turn the light off, the "shadow" effect it has is BEAUTIFUL!

Also it is reactive to 405nm and 445nm. SLIGHTLY but still reactive to 532nm.
 
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If the glow boards are the ones I'm thinking of...you could have jsut hit up ebay for some 405nm LED's at...100 for $20 maybe less, then stop by your local hardware store and buy a sheet of plexi-glass, mount the led's in the side and your done....
 
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I have a nice posterboard, about 2.5x2 feet. I used 2 bottles of Glow in the dark fabric paint and spreaded it with my hands. Works great! If you leave your lights on and put something complicated on it (Ipod with earbuds, screws and nails, pencils) and then turn the light off, the "shadow" effect it has is BEAUTIFUL!

Also it is reactive to 405nm and 445nm. SLIGHTLY but still reactive to 532nm.

Do you have any pictures of that? that sounds kind of what I'd like to do



If the glow boards are the ones I'm thinking of...you could have jsut hit up ebay for some 405nm LED's at...100 for $20 maybe less, then stop by your local hardware store and buy a sheet of plexi-glass, mount the led's in the side and your done....

Not following you ..:thinking:
 
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Fenzir

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something kinda like this?
0804112229.jpg

0804112228.jpg


Also, I have a 50mw 405 pen from dino doing 43mw. I'm happy with it.
 
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Thanks for the pics fenzir

yeah pretty much like that, no offense though, looks like you didn't put much paint on it, and it seems to work pretty good.. but I could be wrong

once I make it ill maybe post my results of the finished project.

I was hoping there was like GITD poster boards.. for god knows why.. (maybe GITD office meetings lol )

Ill probably invest atleast $30 max on this lol so I mean a lot of paint/ Poster board paper will be used, I was hoping for other colors other than green. i think i have seen blue and orange i think been used too..

Ive heard white is the best background color to use also, any clarification on that?
 

Fenzir

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^ Yeah, I didn't put too much on it. And $30 for this is a bit excessive, I went to AC Moore and got 2 bottles of GITD fabric paint for $3 a piece and the posterboard couldn't be more then $3.

The paint doesn't need to be too thick, using 2 bottles about the size of a normal deoderent stick when I lase at it, it stays lit up for a minute or so.

I think ndrew at modwerx.com had a foam GITD board a while ago for $7. But my camera doesn't capture the brightness it maintains either. I love my gitd poster, I usually have it hanging on my wall and have my 405 pen on my nightstand <3

I'm not sure on white as the best background color, but it does reflect the most light as a color, so I guess it'd be the best to use. I just had my paper sitting around at home and figured why not.
 
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Yah your probably right. about all that lol but if anything $30 is like my limit.. lmao like if i could get some fancy super awesome thing that would make it 10x better and it be at like 29.99 then sure why then hell not lol :D

like my absolute real goal is to get it close enought to make it look like this.

Set 2 pictures by beamglowstudio - Photobucket


I know those are those high quality ones , and thats my goal to make one of those under $30
 
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I jumped to a conclusing with out looking it up, I thought you were talking about something like a message board thats clear and you could write on it with High lighter to have the text glow, and not actually something that has a memory effect.

Heres what I was talking about:
 
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I jumped to a conclusing with out looking it up, I thought you were talking about something like a message board thats clear and you could write on it with High lighter to have the text glow, and not actually something that has a memory effect.

Heres what I was talking about:

OH I see. kind of like a black light effect, except the black light is the 405nm . I got you! thats pretty
 
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I wasn't using lasers though since I don't have a 405 ATM but I did use ->
5722-p1020012.jpg
5721-p1020013.jpg
 
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:kewlpics:

very interesting . do you think that would activate A fluorescent black light poster? and could maybe be a cheap alternative for black lights :)
 

Cad602

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Hey, I made a low budget glow board while on vacation as a way to help get the kids to happily go to bed at night...

Home Depot has Pint sized cans for ~10$ - Well I can't remember the exact size but it wasn't large - had to be about a pint...still it was enough to put several coats on a 16"x24" piece of cardboard and have a little bit left...after the cardboard surface wrinkled up real good it actually smoothed back out and works great still each night we draw on it w/my 50mw 405's and my 445 in ~50mw low power mode (it's got 2 power ranges & a pot)...I'll be sure to use a more firm surface for the next board I make..I know I wasted a lot of paint but On vacation I used what was available and made a nice project out of it...
tldr,Home Depot has it cheap!

peace,
cad602
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
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You can buy small bottles of glow in the dark paint from craft and hobby stores. I bought mine at hobby lobby. It's only a couple of ounces, but if you bought a couple of them you should have plenty to paint something that size.

A smaller but more expensive alternative is to find some of the Crayola glow board products and piece a few of them together.
No

I have a nice posterboard, about 2.5x2 feet. I used 2 bottles of Glow in the dark fabric paint and spreaded it with my hands. Works great! If you leave your lights on and put something complicated on it (Ipod with earbuds, screws and nails, pencils) and then turn the light off, the "shadow" effect it has is BEAUTIFUL!

Also it is reactive to 405nm and 445nm. SLIGHTLY but still reactive to 532nm.
No

something kinda like this?
0804112229.jpg

0804112228.jpg


Also, I have a 50mw 405 pen from dino doing 43mw. I'm happy with it.
No

Hey, I made a low budget glow board while on vacation as a way to help get the kids to happily go to bed at night...

Home Depot has Pint sized cans for ~10$ - Well I can't remember the exact size but it wasn't large - had to be about a pint...still it was enough to put several coats on a 16"x24" piece of cardboard and have a little bit left...after the cardboard surface wrinkled up real good it actually smoothed back out and works great still each night we draw on it w/my 50mw 405's and my 445 in ~50mw low power mode (it's got 2 power ranges & a pot)...I'll be sure to use a more firm surface for the next board I make..I know I wasted a lot of paint but On vacation I used what was available and made a nice project out of it...
tldr,Home Depot has it cheap!

peace,
cad602
No
img0331s.jpg

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/267/p7180020.mp4/
YES!!!!!!!
http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/269/sha.mp4/
Yes!!!
http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/844/d57.mp4/
Video fail
 
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